Determining the Foraging Range and Origin of Resurgence After Treatment of Argentine Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Urban Areas

Vega, Steven; Rust, Michael Κ.

doi:10.1093/jee/96.3.844

Cited by 34 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, in this case, ants from more distant nests should generally be genetically indistinguishable, but they are not (Ingram and Gordon, 2003). In attempts to eradicate Argentine ants, the application of poison affected only nests within short-distances in both Hawaii and southern California (Vega and Rust, 2003;Krushelnycky et al, 2004). All of these results imply that Argentine ant workers in unicolonial populations tend to travel between nests, and share food at spatial scales of less than 100 meters.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Previous food sharing studies in Argentine ants have been conducted in single sites in orchards and urban areas, sometimes with multiple baiting stations, and food was shared up to maximum distances between 34 -61 m (Markin, 1968;Ripa et al, 1999;Vega and Rust, 2003). In these studies, high numbers of marked ants were found in nests at the borders of study areas, leaving open the question whether food sharing may have extended greater distances than those measured.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Nest connectivity and colony structure in unicolonial Argentine ants

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Unicolonial ant colonies occupy many nests and individuals rarely show aggression across large geographic distances. These traits make it difficult to detect colony structure. Here we identify colony structure at scales of hundreds of square-meters, within an invasive population of unicolonial Argentine ants. In experiments using labeled food, and in a 3-year census of nests and trails, we found that food was shared and nests were linked by trails at distances up to 50 meters. Food was not distributed to all nearby Argentine ant nests, showing that ants tend to share resources within a spatially bounded group of nests. The spatial extent of food sharing increased from winter to summer. Across different habitats and nest densities, nests were consistently aggregated at spatial scales of 3-4 meters in radius. This suggests that new nests bud from old nests at short distances regardless of local conditions. We suggest that a colony of Argentine ants could be defined as a group of nests among which ants travel and share food. In our study population, colonies occupy up to 650 m 2 and contain as many as 5 million ants. In combination with previous work showing that there is genetic differentiation among nests at similar spatial scales, the results suggest that Argentine ant populations do not function ecologically as single, large supercolonies, but instead as mosaics of smaller, distinct colonies consisting of groups of interacting nests.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest connectivity and colony structure in unicolonial Argentine ants

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Baits are a popular method to control pest ants and have been used to control numerous invasive ants including the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta and the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Lofgren, 1986;Rust and Knight, 1990;HooperBui and Rust, 2000). Invasive ant species are often highly polygynous and polydomous (Passera, 1994;Moller, 1996) and field studies show that baits frequently fail to eradicate colonies and resurgences are common (Knight and Rust, 1991;Rust and Knight, 1990;Vega and Rust, 2003). To obtain better results with toxic baits, the optimal density and distribution of bait stations must first be determined.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dispersed central-place foraging in the polydomous odorous house ant, Tapinoma sessile as revealed by a protein marker

Buczkowski

Bennett

2006

Insect. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The odorous house ant, Tapinoma sessile, is a native ant species common throughout North America. In urban areas, this ant is classified a pest species and exhibits several attributes characteristic of invasive "tramp" ants (sensu Passera, 1994). These include: extreme polygyny, colony reproduction by budding, reduced internest aggression, generalist diet, and polydomy. Here we explore the organization of foraging and the pathways of food distribution in polydomous colonies of T. sessile in the laboratory and field using a novel marking technique (rabbit IgG protein) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Laboratory assays revealed patterns of food allocation from foragers to other castes and developmental stages. Foragers distributed the IgG-labelled sucrose to the majority of workers within 24 h, and workers retained significantly more sucrose than either queens or larvae. Approximately 50 % of queens tested positive for the IgG marker and some queens received significantly more sucrose than others, indicating a possible reproductive dominance hierarchy. Larvae received little sucrose demonstrating their minor reliance on carbohydrates. The results of field experiments showed that odorous house ants are dispersed central-place foragers whereby ants from individual nests exhibit high foraging site fidelity, travel along well-established trails, and forage on a local scale. Dispersed central-place foraging most likely allows the odorous house ant to more efficiently secure both clumped and dispersed food sources and possibly increases its competitive ability. As a result, colonies become numerically large and ecologically dominant. The results of our study contribute to our understanding of the social behavior and colony organization in T. sessile. In addition, they provide a framework for designing more effective ant control programs based on liquid baits.

show abstract

“…Foraging distance has been investigated for Argentine ants in urban environments (Vega and Rust 2003) and citrus groves (Ripa et al 1999). Sugar water labeled with rabbit immunoglobin G protein was used to study ant movement in vineyards (Daane, Cooper, et al 2006).…”

Section: Bait-station Designmentioning

confidence: 99%